The Angels' Brandon Wood hit .146 in 81 games in the majors, with 71 strikeouts and just 33 hits. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

When Brandon Wood was drafted by the Angels in 2003, Tony Reagins was the director of player development and welcomed him to the organization.

As GM now, Reagins will likely be sending Wood elsewhere after designating him for assignment Tuesday.

"It was a difficult decision – not just the baseball, you have personal relationships," Reagins said. "I've known him since he came into our organization as an 18-year-old kid in 2003.

"But obviously, there's a business side and in our estimation this was the right move to make at this time."

Almost as difficult as the decision to cut ties with Wood will be Reagins' next task – trying to get value in a trade for the former first-round pick rather than waiving or releasing him.

Once mentioned in blockbuster trade speculation on an annual basis in packages targeting players such as Roy Halladay, Miguel Cabrera and Manny Ramirez, Wood's value on the trade market has been thrashed by his failures at the big-league level.

Most sources agree the Angels will not be able to get more than a fringe prospect (think Loek Van Mil, acquired from the Twins for Brian Fuentes last season) and certainly not any immediate help for the major-league roster if they find a way to move Wood in a deal.

"I have an idea what it might be like," Reagins said of Wood's trade value, admitting that it's "fair to say" he has explored the possibility in the recent past.

"We have 10 days to go through the process. We'll see how it goes."

Knowing Wood as well as he did over the years, Reagins said the burden of expectations might have been the largest factor in Wood's failure to make it with the Angels.

"There was an extreme amount of expectations on Brandon Wood – a first-round pick, top prospect on this list or that list, on this cover, that cover of magazines," Reagins said. "There were expectations that he was going to be a superstar-type player.

"I don't think he ever got comfortable at the major-league level. It just didn't work out. Sometimes that happens. We've seen that happen with other first-round picks that didn't pan out at the major-league level.

"And I'm not saying that it couldn't happen for Brandon Wood in another environment."

As hyped as Wood was on his way up, there is another prospect in the Angels' system now who has been the subject of every bit as much hype with expectations just as inflated – 19-year-old Mike Trout.

Reagins and Angels manager Mike Scioscia each said there is nothing to be taken from Wood's story and applied to their handling of Trout.

"I don't believe you can handle it any differently from the development side," Reagins said. "Brandon hit every level in our organization. He got plenty of at-bats at every level in our organization. And he performed at a high level at every step in our system.

"I don't think we could handle it any differently. A player has to perform and if he performs he gets promoted to the next level. But he has to continue to perform."

Scioscia dismissed any comparison to Trout – "let's talk about that when we get to it" – and agreed with Reagins that the Angels had done everything they could to make Wood a success at the major-league level.

"There's no exact science in this that says a guy is going to succeed or a guy is going to struggle," Scioscia said. "There are some guys who are going to blossom and play above expectations and some guys are going to struggle. You just never really know.

"I don't think there's anything that we were looking at as far as how we brought Brandon along. Did you rush him? Did you make him wait too long? That wasn't the case with Brandon. I think he was prepared for his opportunity."

NOTES

Right-hander Joel Pineiro threw three innings and approximately 45 pitches in a camp game at the Angels' extended spring training in Arizona on Wednesday. Scioscia said reports were that Pineiro's "stuff was terrific. He felt good." Pineiro will rejoin the Angels in California on Thursday and could start a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment early next week, most likely with Class-A Inland Empire.

THURSDAY'S GAME

Angels right-hander Tyler Chatwood (1-1, 3.75) is scheduled to start against Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett (2-1, 1.80). Game time is 7:05 p.m. and it will be broadcast on FSW, KLAA/830 AM and KWKW/1330 AM in Spanish.

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